Baltimore City Council Approves Tax Break For New Apartments

Developers converting older office buildings into apartments or building new complexes could get a significant tax break under a measure the Baltimore City Council approved Monday.

The legislation is aimed at addressing a glut of vacancies in office buildings downtown, encouraging new or converted apartments in six other neighborhoods, and drawing new residents to the city.

The list of requirements to qualify for the tax break is short: The development must be in one of the seven areas, must be a project involving at least 50 apartment units, and must have an environmentally friendly certification.  Supporters said this tax break would be more “predictable” for developers, who typically have to lobby City Hall for individual incentives.

“It can open up the development market to outside developers,” said Kirby Fowler, president of the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore, which lobbied for the credit.  “Before, developers had to know the system in order to access some [tax] credits. It will create more predictability and transparency.”

Read more:  http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-apartment-tax-incentive-20130408,0,332010.story

Senator Smucker Drafts Redevelopment Plan For Lancaster City

Whenever he holds a meeting in his office on the seventh floor of Lancaster County‘s administration building, at 150 N. Queen St., Commissioner Scott Martin said people always look out the windows and remark on the sweeping view of the city.

“Then, they look down,” Martin said, referring to Lancaster Square, the vacant Bulova Technologies building and the Hotel Brunswick, part of which has been condemned.

The public square and the surrounding buildings are an island in the city. The area has steadfastly resisted redevelopment even as much of the rest of Lancaster city has flowered with restaurants and art galleries in recent years.

On Thursday, state Sen. Lloyd Smucker announced a proposal to help Lancaster city and four other similar-sized cities in Pennsylvania to redevelop problem areas.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/735135_Smucker-drafts-redevelopment-plan-for-Lancaster-city.html#ixzz26SJampk0